The costliest places to live

As businesses try to attract the most talented workers, they're looking for states where the cost of living is low. These are not those states. Our Cost of Living category is worth 75 points out of a possible 2,500 total. Details on all of our categories and our methodology are here. Click ahead to see America's most expensive states, as ranked by CNBC, along with a sampling of prices you'll pay for basic items in the most expensive areas of the state.